The Chocolate Watchband - This Is My Voice

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The Chocolate Watchband were already founded in 1967 in California. The psychedelic punk legends delight with a very varied album. In sum, very psychedelic and rarely really punk, but just for the two real cracker "Secret Rendezvous" and "Trouble Everyday" it must force a rocktip.

Proto punk/psychedelic band Chocolate Watchband began in the heady mid-’60s with the release of their first album No Way Out in 1967. Two more releases followed; The Inner Mystique in 1968 and One Step Beyond in 1969. Then the band called it a day. The band eventually reformed and released Get Away in 2000.

Since this band had its heyday some 50-years ago, you might think that this album is a collection of vintage material or a long lost effort. But surprise, This is My Voice is newly recorded material featuring founding vocalist David Aguilar, who also penned about half of the material here.

It's still very early times in the year, but I will be shocked if this album doesn't make my "best of 2019" list. It's just such a strong set. In fact, as it stands right now, this is my favorite album of the year. Like I said, it's still early days, but this should rank high by the time the year is over. This band got their start in the 1960s, and there is plenty of that sound here. The ethos of the ‘60s is represented, too, in part because there is a lot of protest music here, and in part because there are quite a few covers from that era. All in all, if you like killer rock and roll with a ‘60s edge, give this a try.

So if you like distorted guitars, Dave Clark type drumming and people singing about how shit the world is, then this will be for you. It’s mainly original material although they find room for covers of songs by Frank Zappa and Bob Dylan (natch) while the blistering version of The Seeds’ ‘I Can’t Seem to Make You Mine’ is the album highlight. Chuck in a Donald Trump sample and this is as woke as they come. Geography teachers of the world unite!

Before I even removed the plastic wrap from the CD case, I was appreciating This Is My Voice, the new release from Chocolate Watchband. And that’s because of its cover, which includes that insane quote from monster Rudy Giuliani, “Truth is not truth!” (actually, he said, “Truth isn’t truth!”). That single line really sums up the entire Trump administration, doesn’t it? And right next to that line is a photo of a woman holding a sign that says “Me Too.” The CD cover’s artwork addresses several other important issues, including authoritarianism and climate change. And the music, though it often has something of a classic psychedelic vibe, also addresses this strange and disturbing reality we all find ourselves struggling against these days. The album features mostly original material, along with a few excellent choices of covers. It’s something of a feat that this band is still composing and recording worthy and relevant material. This is an album I’m going to be listening to a lot.

Breaking out of the West Coast counter culture scene of the 1960s, The Chocolate Watchband , influenced by the British Invasion sounds, shook with an intensity and drive that saw them drench themselves in psychedelia while at the same time foraging an early proto-punk trough. Their influence has proved more potent than their sales were at the time, overshadowed by other groups and ripped off by music fat cats, theirs is a tale of returning to the stage to find that their fanbase has grown in the intervening half a century. So, sit back and take a ride with one of the original voices of the psych garage-rock scene.

The Chocolate Watchband was founded in 1965 in Los Altos, California, America and initially existed until 1970. In 1966 the band signed a contract with Tower Records, which released their debut single "Sweet Young Thing" / "Baby Blue" in 1967 and this was followed later in that year by their first album "No Way Out".

Has the world changed that much in 50 years? These geezers and their associates still kick ass in the way that affirms their status as psych rock legends, but the sounds doesn’t seem as over powering as they once did. The kind of gang that’s mentioned in the same breath as either the Velvet Underground or the Stones, depending on which direction you are approaching them from, these are still sounds meant to angry up the blood of young bloods---and it does a fine job thereto. Wild stuff never meant to be tamed.

Jan 30, 2019

Press release:

Iconic California psychedelic punk legends The Chocolate Watchband are touring to celebrate the release of their new album (released by Dirty Water Records), led by founding and current members, vocalist David Aguilar and guitarist Tim Abbott, plus Gary Andrijasevich on drums. Second generation fans, guitarist Derek See and bassist Alec Palao (Grammy-nominated producer/ historian ), bring their enthusiasm and love for the music to the table to help weave THE sound which both faithfully recreates the sonic energy and tone of the original recordings, as well as giving a rare edge to ￼new material that is a logical progression to the bands legacy.

Documented as influencing legendary bands far and wide within the psych, garage, and punk scene for the past 50 years, their live performances sizzle with the same outrageous audacity of the late 60s scene they helped usher into the San Francisco Bay area ballroom scene. The group was also seen as featured bands in the 1967 cult films Riot on the Sunset Strip and The Love-Ins, and their powerful stage presence continues to the present day in a timeless stage show which is oozing electric cool-aid energy.

While the bands' music was a cherished secret of record collectors for many years, the music is now available to be heard by everyone, which has ushered in a new fourth generation of fans around the world, who hear the Watchband sound as it has reverberated into the psyche of the class of 2018 psychedelic bands.

Their newest songs resonate with genuine political rebellion in our current times, which can be heard in the lyrics of the new song ‘Judgment Day'."I wrote 'Judgment Day' as the country was still in recovery," says lead vocalist and founding member David Aguilar of the days following the 2008 market crash. "Families were living in their cars. It was a terrible time for the American dream. It resulted in the anger that put the current president into the White House. The Who were wrong, Americans can get fooled again!"

The band will be hitting the road in 2019 in support of their new album "This Is My Voice" with plans for a string of European tours and select US dates. Are YOU gonna be there?